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Now that he was finally apprenticed under a well known Sensei, he had a lot more freedom that he had expected. Instead of being treated like a spoiled child by his family, they treated him like the young man he was. He enjoyed a lot of it, but not all of it, like right now.

The boy was young, so he wasn't fully interested in girls. Yet anyway. Sometimes he was spot a face that would catch his eye, or an older Shirabyoshi that reminded him of his mother. Like the saying went, boys often looked for qualities that reminded them of their mothers.

Going with his older brothers to visit the lovely Shirabyoshi women was not something he had been expecting, not at all. Yes he was now a man, but he was not ready for this atmosphere. All around was music, beautiful women in gorgeous kimonos, their perfumes absolutely intoxicating. He felt almost as if he was drunk.

His older brothers were handsome, so instantly he was surrounded by the women, bushed aside like a bit of dust. He didn't care though. Naturally he was adventerous, so the place held more interest to him then all of the fawning women.

Leaving the entryway, he left between two doors, going through another set, then another, getting turned around and confused before he found himself in a stunning garden. Looking around, he could see people drifting here and there, as well as a dirty girl spying on people he couldn't see.

Deciding to be mischevious, he snuck up behind her silently, lifting a hand to tap her shoulder. "Are you spying Servant?" he asked teasingly, trying to make his voice sound stern and proud like his older brothers.

"Attending the garden, right," he said trying his hardest to keep a smirk off his face, his brows pulled together tightly from his strain which probably could be mistaken as anger. Acting was something he had never been good at, so if he had been speaking to someone older, they would've figured him out almost instantly.

"You know," he said turning away, better to hide his face. "Spying on the Nobles, or even the Gentry for one such as yourself, can be classified as a criminal offence. Who knows, you mite be a spy for our enemies!" It was total nonsense of course, but he was making things up as he went. Thankfully he still had enough of his childhood curiosity to keep things going.

Turning around again, and seeing her scared expression, he sighed, suddenly feeling guilty for his trickery. If she hadn't looked so humiliated and terrified, he probably would've kept his sharade going for some time before bursting with laughter. Now he just felt terrible. "I'm just kidding, I'm not going to get you in trouble." He chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood from the stiff and tense atmosphere it had become.

"I'm here with my older brothers," he said gesturing a hand back towards the doors he had come through, "and I got bored, so I left to go exploring. I sorta...uhh...got lost along the way, let's just say that." Smiling, he took a step closer. "I'm on my way to being a Warrior, so this is my first time here," he announced proudly. Announcing that he was under a master sensei was something he did often, always trying to show off, especially to girls though this one in particular reminded him more of a boy.

"I'm Sanoske, Sanoske Inizawa. You can call me Sano though, everyone else does," he shrugged. "What may I call you by other then Servant Girl?"

"Your majesty! Your majesty!" The calls were faint in the distance, but Reizei's ears picked them up almost automatically. A soft grimace of annoyance flickered over his features before he offered a pleasant smile to those he'd just met. "Well," he murmured, "I'm afraid I must make a social call now. Perhaps we'll meet again." He then carefully began to make his way away, walking casually and in the opposite direction of the barely audible calls.

He was Mikado, was all. Not the emperor; that was an impossibility. The emperor was an extremely refined man who kept to himself, sometimes meeting other people of import. He was a figurehead of dire importance, and was both admired and hated throughout all of Heian Japan. His place in society was politically meaningless, but to his people he had every meaning in the world. Perhaps that was why he longed so often to meet them, get to know him. How could he mean so much to them when both sides knew so little of eachother?

"Mikado-san!" Reizei's soft voice was filled with surprise as he spotted his attendant.

"What are you doing dressed in that sort of clothing, your Majesty?" Mikado sounded distressed to say the least. "Please, your Majesty, why did you leave?" He cried, looking away from Reizei shamefully.

"Sh, Mikado-san." Reizei frowned, walking in the general direction of his chambers. "I merely wished to enjoy the gardens in peace." It was clear by his tone that that was his closing statement. The emperor was never to be questioned; his private matters were just that. Private. His servants and attendants need not know every second of his life. Normality need not be a sin.

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Reizei walked slowly through the garden, savoring the excellent weather and breathing in the scent produced by the lovely flowers. Currently the emperor was ignoring the two or three attendants softly buzzing like bees behind him on the path and was instead choosing to enjoy himself. It was clear by his entourage that he was at the very least an extremely prominent noble, if not the emperor right off the bat.

He knew most of the garden, really, as he walked through often, whether disguised or in full regalia. Soon he came upon a turn in the path and a woman came into view; a shirabyoshi, to be exact. The emperor's lips curved up into a slow smile and paused, ignoring his rather wary-looking attendants as he chose to approach the woman in his walk. Of course, his attendants felt that he was much too friendly a ruler for his own good, but he felt otherwise.

"Hello." He murmured, addressing the woman in a languid tone of voice. If he could not immediately be identified as the emperor, then he could at least be identified as a man of extremely fortunate rank.

He would most certainly do as he pleased here in the gardens, even if it was an impossibility to speak properly to this woman giving their difference in rank. It didn't matter to the eccentric man, even if his attendants were now scowling moodily behind his back. He had made their job five times harder, but he'd also made his day much more enjoyable by doing this.

The attendants soon began buzzing again, yet this time it was an angered, nearly impassion kind of thing. This was mostly due to the fact that this woman - this shirabyoshi - was staring the emperor directly in the face. This was not something anyone actually did in the presence of the emperor, and it was also not something that anyone at court would actually purposefully do. Being demure was a valued art.

Despite the reaction of his attendants, the emperor appeared quite unaffected. Reizei was an extremely mellow man and so barely noticed the lapse in tradition. "Of course." He murmured to the woman, appearing faintly amused at her offer as he seated himself on the bench with an effortless grace, taught to him since birth. The man was clearly eccentric in nature and probably too curious for his own good.

"Will you be entertaining me today, shirabyoshi-san?" He questioned, relaxing.

Reizei watched the performer take out her flute, tilting his head lightly to the side as he observed Shinju playing the delicate instrument. He allowed a soft sigh to escape his lips at the melody, relaxing to listen. The song interested him with its exact tone, but he made no comments on it to her as she lowered her flute and bowed. "Yes, it was lovely." He murmured, shaken lightly from his reverie and choosing to look directly to her. The ghost of a smile lingered on his face as his eyes traveled languidly over the woman; he was often entertained, and often captivated. As far as captivation, this was no exception.

As an aristocratic child he had been educated in music, and this was a wonderful show. The emperor himself specialized in playing the koto, a stringed lute of sorts. It was important for a figurehead such as the emperor to be well-educated in the arts, including poetry, music, and diplomacy. Indeed, the ruler was a fast learner. It was what was expected of a man as socially important as Reizei was. That wasn't to say that his mother's... encouragement of sorts hadn't helped the learning process.

The emperor smiled absently, wrenching himself from thought as he gazed up to the shirabyoshi again. "What is your name?" He murmured calmly, brushing dark hair from his face as he watched her, his eyes searching. Talent was valued in his court, as it certainly should have been. Of course, you couldn't remember everyone you met in this court, for there were many faces, but it was always admissible to attempt to.

Reizei's attendants noted with some annoyance that the emperor looked almost as if he was ready to settle in for conversation, while all they really wanted to do was move. Still, they remained respectfully in place, listening to the music and to the emperor speak on his every whim. They may have been irritated, but they were of course used to it. Never mind that they were just a little sick of his eccentric nature.

Having finished everything that was assigned to her that day, Atsuko scurried into her room to change out of her dirty, patched clothing into one that was...well, less dirty, at least. Her chores seemed to whiz past today - perhaps it was because she was becoming more efficient with them - and the girl found herself left with free time to herself. The problem was that she wasn't sure how to spend this free time. Her 'onii-sama' was probably busy right now, and most of the other maids were still working. There weren't many others that she was acquainted with, and they were probably busy elsewhere right now anyways.

Running a hand through her hair, Atsuko sighed. She had been wanting a break for a while, and now that she had it...she wasn't sure what to do. She could sneak off and try finding a samurai practicing to watch - she was interested in swordplay - but if she were caught...

She let out another, heavy sigh, standing up and smoothing out her clothing as she headed out of her room. Well, the garden was always a place she enjoyed. The flowers could usually hold her attention for a while, at least.

She slipped through the halls, grinning the moment she stepped into the garden. For a moment, Atsuko stood there, taking in the scene. Her eyes lit up as she noticed a familiar face nearby, unaware that there was a Shirabyoshi speaking to him.

"Onii-sama!" The girl hurried towards him, halting suddenly when she realized there was someone with him. Her face reddening slightly, she placed her hands on her thighs and bowed low.